Hello again!!!!!

[Bellatrix Black]

Bellatrix slowly approached Riddle Manor. She had so many memories connected to this house. Knowing that HE wasn*t there, would never be there again, hurt. It hurt tremendously.
"Cissy spoke so highly of Donovan," she thought to herself as she walked closer. "I hope she's right."

Telling Bellatrix about the Dark Lord's son was what had finally gotten the crushed death eater out of bed again. Narcissa hadn't meant to ever talk about her son to her sister, had hoped to keep Bella away from the death eaters. But she had to admit that it simply was Bella. Death Eater wasn't something she did; it was who she was, heart and soul totally committed to the Dark Lord.
So Bellatrix had decided to meet the man. The man who had the heavy legacy of Voldemort to carry, the man who could rouse the dark wizards for yet another war, the man who could finally, once and for all, win the war.

Another reason she had gone was pure jealousy. How could NARCISSA, of all people, have the Dark Lord's son? Bellatrix had loved the man from the start, had loved him unconditionally, had always believed in him. It should be her SON in that mansion, not her nephew.

In a back corner of her mind, Bellatrix understood why she wasn't told. Why she was the only one in Voldemort's inner circle not told. The Dark Lord must have known she would have been violently jealous, and he must have feared losing her support should she know. It hurt.

But still, she was curious to see this young man.

Bellatrix steepped up to the door and knocked.

[Donovan Riddle]

Donovan was going insane, his Death Eaters were all over the place, the two werewolves he allowed into his service weren't useful for anything more than small assassinations. Letting out a breath from the sitting room, he tried with everything in his head to calm himself, to clear his head, but it wasn't a real easy thing to do. The trainees he had, they were getting mostly nowhere. Davenport was a working progress, but he had some obvious tension with Andrews. Normally Donovan would keep out of the business, but if he continued to effect them, he would step in.

Silence followed as soon as the knock on the door. No one could get passed the wards unless they wore the Dark Mark and no Death Eater knocked on the doors of Headquarters. Donovan stood up with his hand over his wand walking towards the door, he nodded to the Halsey kid to open the door, Donovan aimed his wand right at the door while it opened, raising an eyebrow at the women who stood there. Bellatrix. He recognized her from his mother's pictures.

"Bellatrix." Donovan was shocked to see his aunt standing in front of him, from what he knew of her she was dead. He didn't lower his wand yet, how could she be alive and never answered his calls? Never responded to the Mark, but here now, randomly? "How in Merlin's.."

[Bellatrix Black]

She silently looked at the young man, for several minutes, not fazed by the wand pointed at her. Finally, she spoke.
"Spitting image of your father. Didn't get much of Cissy, did you?" Bellatrix chuckled. "Not surprising that her genes didn't dominate those of the Dark Lord."
She stepped across the threshold.
"Why I am here, you wonder? Your mother, for some reason, didn't want me to die, so she bewitched my necklace. That your father gave me, by the way. Cissy's spells held of the curse of that filthy blood traitor."

Bellatrix took another step toward Donovan.
"So now I'm here to meet the Dark Lord's son." She smirked.
"But I guess you claim that title now, don't you?" Bellatrix asked, her voice slightly mocking.

[Donovan Riddle]

His mother would have told Bellatrix where he was and how to find him, he narrowed his eyes at her. How was he to even trust this information? Last he knew, Bellatrix died. If his mother told her sister about him, she would know a little about him as a person not just the new Dark lord. "When's my birthday?" Donovan asked her, because it was a simple question and if his mother had talked about him, it was something Bellatrix would know. If not, well, Donovan was just going to kill her and be done with it.

"Alright. We've met. What can I do for you Bellatrix?" Never lowering his wand, he kept his eyes on the supposed Bellatrix. "I shall hope you come with something more than a family meeting as request."

[Bellatrix Black]

"Your birthday. Really. The 22 of January."
She grinned as she came closer.
"I'm not here so you can do something for me...I'm here to do something for you."

Suddenly dropping all her mocking pretense, she turned serious, her eyes flashing with angry passion.

"I supported your father as soon as I graduated from Hogwarts, I killed, I tortured, I did everything, and I mean EVERYTHING for that man. You know what I'm capable of. You would have to be a true idiot not to want me on your side."

Taking another step, she was close enough to touch Donovan. Running a finger across his cheek, she turned mocking again.

"And maybe, in time, you will be able to do something for me. You're such a pretty, pretty boy. Almost like Draco. What a delight he was." Bellatrix smiled an impossibly innocent smile.

[Donovan Riddle]

"Expelliarmus! Immobulus! Petrificus Totalus!" Donovan cast soon as the women touched him, he wasn't dealing with this. He moved back from her, glaring at her, he wouldn't risk one spell not hitting her, so he set out several. He had heard of Bellatrix, he knew of her madness more than he knew of anything else of her. She had proven enough that she was who she said she was, but that wasn't something Donovan was going to welcome with open arms.

Looking around the room, at the other Death Eaters in the room, he wondered what they were even thinking about Bellatrix coming back to the ranks. "You are supportive women, that's just wonderful. Fantastic. I don't give a bloody fuck. You, were apart of the fall down of my father. You have nowhere to go dear, that's why you're here. If anyone finds out your alive, you'll be hunted and killed before word got far." Donovan didn't have anything to want this women around right now, every time he let 'family' other than his mother, Lucius, and Draco 'help' him. It ended up hurting him much more than helping.

Draco. "Love, if you so much as lay a finger on my brother, I will practice every inch of magic my father taught me. There's a reason I'm second, and it's not because of my blood." Donovan threatened her, Draco was his younger brother, they grew up close and they would die all the same. "My mother sent you here, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Until then, trainees! Meet your maker. Bellatrix is offering to teach you everything about there is about the ranks."

[James Dillion Halsey]

James opened the door and watched the show, Bellatrix Lastrange? She was here? Alive? In the ranks? James was not liking this, not wanting to be here, and definitively not wanting to be anywhere near that women. There was a reason her name was so popular among the ranks, why she was known for being mad. James wanted out of the ranks, not to be involved more with the craziness. He wanted to get home, to his boyfriend who was threatening to leave unless he did quit this. He had to figure something out.

Maker? She was going to teach us? He hoped that Bellatrix would turn Donovan's offer down. Maybe she saw herself above him? James didn't really wish death among the people he worked with, but he really did want Donovan to kill her. James couldn't help but be terrified to work with her. Hunter was going to be disappointed him for sure, he didn't even say anything when Donovan looked over to him. He just nodded.

[Bellatrix Black]

With an easy shrug of her shoulder, Bellatrix deflected Donovan's spells.

"A shy one, are you? That's definitely more like Cissy than like your father." She cackled.
Suddenly, her eyes flashed with rage, her face contorted with anger.
"Me, a part of your father's downfall, boy? I fought for him, I gave everyhting I am to protect him. All...my...bloody...life." she yelled.

A hint calmer, she continued in a slightly lower voice:" You think I have no other place to go?" Bellatrix cackled again. "Oh, you're so naive. You may be right concerning Britain, you may also be right that that bitch McGonagall wouldn't exactly employ me to teach Charms, but, believe me, there are others who would value my abilities and my loyalty." Her demeanor was haughty.

" I came here to offer my Lord's son what I can no longer offer to Himself...and believe me, boy, your father would never have wasted my talents teaching runny-nosed brats how to cast cute little spelly-spells."

"But", she smiled a seductive smile, "I'll humor you for now. You're not trusting, my pet, that's a good quality. Shows that you, for one, learned from the past. Be certain, though, that my patience is fickle and I don't like to be bored. And I find that working far below my abilities is very, very boring."

Bellatrix paused for effect.

"And you might well remember how Frank and Alice Longbottom paid for their failure to cooperate. I do hope that you'll be willing to...hm...let's say spare the denser ones that I'm supposed to teach. Reprimanding is something I do extremely well."

She walked around Donovan, and leaned close enough to whisper in his ear:" But Draco was a fast and able learner. Him I didn't have to hurt. But, believe me, I would have hurt him, if I'd had to, to insure his survival in the war. From your father's downfall, you should have gathered that I do everything in my power to protect the ones I love. You'd do well to remember that. And remember that I happeb to love Draco very, very much."

[Donovan Riddle]

"My father is dead. I do things a little different around here. Either obey or get out. You are not my problem nor are you a solution." Donovan had loyalty and lose for his father, but there was not a bond nor was there love. He wouldn't let anyone disrespect the name, but he didn't exactly have stories to tell about the former Dark Lord. Smirking, amused, Donovan hadn't moved his wand still, "Humor me if you want, I don't care who you tortured nor do I care what you've been through, I have enough on my plate than to play 'pity me' for the aunt I know nothing about."

Looking over to Halsey who wasn't even speaking, he moved his eyes over to the others, "Well, if you have so much credit, then I would love to see the improvement. Key word there, is improvement. Not mind damaged, I don't want my Death Eaters left like your other victims." Donovan raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips, he could already see this women being a challenge more than it would be anything else.

When Bellatrix was close enough to him, he grabbed her by her neck, not enough to choke her, but enough to threaten her. He whispered back, "If you are even remotely involved in any harm that comes towards Draco or my mother, I will kill you." With that, Donovan removed his hand and moved his hand to her hair, moving the small strand in his fingers. He stepped away, "I'm sure you're capable of finding a room here, unless like you said, you have somewhere else to go."

[Bellatrix Black]

As the hand closed around her neck, Bellatrix smirked. This boy was fun!
"Ah, the young lord knows how to play. I would never harm Draco. Nor Cissy. They are my love, my loyalty. In every sense of the word." she whispered.

Aloud, she said:" I do not want pity, boy. Never. Pity is a paltry emotion that brings no gain."

She allowed her eyed to roam around the room, taking in the appearance of the others present.
"As for mind-damaging anyone..." Bellatrix shrugged. "If they are not complete imbeciles, there's no real danger of that. I can imagine you'd rather not have anyone around here as useless as the Longbottoms."

With a swish of her robes, she walked toward the stairs.
"I will find a room here, it's more practical than going back and forth all the time."

Just before reaching the stairs, Bellatrix stopped and turned toward Donova again.

"I take it my former bed, in the master bedroom, is now off limits?"